The Crow War, also known as the Crow Rebellion, or the Crow Uprising, was the only armed conflict between the United States and the Crow tribe of Montana, and the last Indian War fought in the state. In September 1887 the young medicine man Wraps-Up-His-Tail, or Sword Bearer, led a small group of warriors in a raid against a group of Blackfoot which had captured horses from the Crow reservation. Following the raid, Sword Bearer led his group back to the Crow Agency to inform the Indian agent of his victory, but an incident arose which ended with the young leader taking his followers into the mountains. In response, the United States Army launched a successful campaign to bring the Crow back to the reservation.
War
Crow Incident
In 1887 the Blackfoot and the Crow were in the middle of a minor conflict in which both sides raided for each other's horses. In late spring, a war party of Blackfoot raided the Crow reservation and made off with several horses. Against the chiefs' decision, Sword Bearer decided to lead a counter raid in September. His group consisted mainly of teenagers who were eager to prove themselves to their elders. According to legend, Sword Bearer received his name after having a vision at a Cheyenne reservation though other sources say that his vision occurred after the army was already hunting him. The vision told Sword Bearer that if he carried a sword in battle, he would be protected from harm. During the raid, a number of Blackfoot braves were killed and the Crow recovered their horses without loss, but when they returned to the reservation, on September 30, Sword Bearer made the mistake of showing off his victory to the Indian agent, Henry E. Williamson, who was known for being disliked by the native population. In what was called the Crow Incident, Sword Bearer and his men circled around Williamson's home and fired into the air to celebrate but this only upset the agent who came outside to make arrests. Sword Bearer then fired a few rounds into the ground next to the agent so he ran back inside to wire the army at Fort Custer and tell them his house was under attack. At the time, local newspapers said Williamson's house was also fired into though it remains uncertain if this was true or not, the "Billings Gazette," dated October 3, said that the "houses and office of the agent were riddled by bullets" but nobody was hurt. A few days later, when Sword Bearer learned that the United States Army was looking for him, he and about twenty men left the reservation to go to Fort Custer, thirteen miles away, in order to show the soldiers the magical sword.
When the soldiers noticed the approaching warriors, about 150 yards away, they assumed they were under attack and loaded a battery of cannon. However, it had been raining previously so when the soldiers tried to open fire, the cannon wouldn't work, proving to Sword Bearer and his men that his miraculous saber really did provide protection. The Crow then fled into the Big Horn Mountains, for the Little Bighorn River, where it was believed that Sword Bearer was to recruit more men, particularly from the nearby Cheyenne reservation. By this time the lower Crow chiefs had become quite concerned with the situation so they informed the high chief, Plenty Coups, who ordered the Crow police to begin searching for Sword Bearer and his followers so that the American settlers wouldn't panic. It was too late though as hundreds of settlers had already begun to flee by train from the areas around the Crow reservation.